New audio guide in Finnish plain language presents Ateneum´s classic works of art

Ateneum Art Museum has introduced a new audio guide in Finnish plain language. The audio guide presents major works of Finnish art from the Collection Exhibition. Plain language is a simplified language version whose grammatical structure, vocabulary, content, appearance and narration have been tailored for listeners for whom Finnish is otherwise too complex. The plain language audio guide has been produced by the museum in co-operation with the Finnish plain language news service of YLE Puhe.

The plain language audio guide can be used by a variety of visitors to Ateneum Art Museum, including Finnish language teachers, children who are learning to read, persons with reduced capacities (such as adults recovering from strokes and persons with learning disabilities), dyslexic persons, students and persons with Alzheimer´s.

The plain language audio guide can be listened to while viewing works of art at Ateneum Art Museum or on the internet from the Ateneum and YLE Puhe websites. The internet service is particularly useful for preparing for visits, discussing art in general, or refreshing one´s memory after a visit. The online presentations are also available in text format.

The script for the new audio guide has been written directly in Finnish plain language by Satu Itkonen, an art historian who has worked on several occasions at Ateneum Art Museum. She is also a freelance museum pedagogue and author of several books in Finnish plain language.

The Finnish plain language audio guide project has been made possible through co-operation with YLE Puhe and a government grant for literature in plain language. The audio guide was recorded at the YLE Puhe news studio by reporters Brita Jokinen-Morris and Mikko Jylhä, who are specialised in Finnish plain language. The audio guide has been tested by three groups representing intended users.

Altogether 25 works of art are presented in plain language. As works of art are occasionally loaned to other art institutes, the content of the audio guide varies according to which pieces are currently on display at Ateneum Art Museum.

Further information:

Satu Itkonen
producer of the plain language audio guide
satu.itkonen(a)itkonen.info
tel. +358 (0)50 306 0139

YLE Puhe
Producer Pertti Seppä
pertti.seppa(a)yle.fi
tel. +358 (0)40 749 4565

Ateneum Art Museum
Marja Istala Kumpunen, Press Officer
mik(a)ateneum.fi
tel. +358 (0)50 555 3551

YLE Puhe
Press Officer Taina Kivistö
taina.kivisto(a)yle.fi
tel. +358 (0)40 5059723

 

Plain language audio guide - list of presentations

On display in Ateneum´s Collection Exhibition in spring 2010:

Albert Edelfelt: "Duke Karl insulting the corpse of Klaus Fleming" (1878)

Robert Wilhelm Ekman: "Ilmatar" (1860)
Akseli Gallen-Kallela: "Démasquée" (1888)
Akseli Gallen-Kallela: "Aino Myth" (1891)
Akseli Gallen-Kallela: "Kullervo Cursing" (1899)
Akseli Gallen-Kallela: "Lemminkäinen´s Mother" (1897)
Paul Gauguin: "Landscape, La Dominique (Hiva Oa)" (1903)
Vincent Van Gogh: "Street in Auvers-Sur-Oise" (1890)
Pekka Halonen: "Snow-Covered Pine Seedlings" (1899)
Werner Holmberg: "Road in Häme (A hot summer's day)" (1860)
Tyko Sallinen: "The Washerwomen" (1911)
Helene Schjerfbeck: "Circus Girl" (1916)
Helene Schjerfbeck: "The Convalescent" (1888)
Hugo Simberg: "Frost" (1895)
Hugo Simberg: "The Wounded Angel" (1903)
Ellen Thesleff: "Spring in Finland" (1942)
Ville Vallgren: "Echo" (1887)
Magnus von Wright: "Annankatu on a Cold Winter Morning" (1868)
Ferdinand von Wright: painting "The Fighting Capercaillies" (1886)

 

On display after spring 2010:

Albert Edelfelt: "The Luxembourg Garden, Paris" (1887)
Albert Edelfelt: "Queen Bianca" (1877)
Albert Edelfelt: "Conveying the Child´s Coffin" (1879) - audio guide available only in Simple Finnish
Eero Järnefelt: "Under the Yoke (Burning the Brushwood)" (1893)
Helene Schjerfbeck: "Self-Portrait, Black Background" (1915)
Hugo Simberg: "The Garden of Death" (1896)

 

Makers of the plain language audio guide:

Design, script, testing and implementation, overall co-ordination (Ateneum): Satu Itkonen
Funding for script: Committee for Finnish plain language (Selkokirjatyöryhmä)
Design, testing and implementation, overall co-ordination (YLE): Pertti Seppä
Recording: YLE news studio, Helsinki
Narrators: Brita Jokinen-Morris and Mikko Jylhä
Installation at Ateneum: Reine Lukinmaa and Timo Nurminen
Online application at Ateneum: Minna Erwe
Photos: Finnish National Gallery, Central Art Archives / Photographic Service